A Story Continued: Living Again
by May Dawn
Summary: YinYang, a way to a balance, but that balance has been broken. It needs fixed. Will the Scoobies be able to come together again and fix it. Will the reunion be a little different then planed? Takes place afterthe end of Buffy and Angel.
1. Before

I am starting yet another story. Read, tell me what you think. Should I continue...

Munchkin.

* * *

Before…. 

Slowly a gold red sun peaked over the horizon of the LA skyline. A soft golden glow spread its wings over the city bring to light all its shortcomings and down falls. Buildings lay in ruins; smoke snaked up into the new morning sky. In the middle of it a young man lay. Bleach hair broken out of its jell mold, black duster framing its short and stocky frame, and pale eyelids covering unfocused eyes.

He still lay in shadows as the morning sun continued to rise. Inch by inch the sunlight came closer to his skin. Closer until it was there, bathing his sleeping form in warm light. A large flash of light surrounded him and the destroyed city. Shadows were erased and no sounds were heard.

Slowly the light died leaving an already risen sun in its wake. Full sunlight covered the breathtaking view of the city skyline, whole and undamaged. The street where the man had lain was barren but for a stray dog digging in a large dumpster for food. Life returned to the city like nothing had ever happened. Maybe it never had.

**TBC **


	2. Living Again

A Story Continued: Living again

With hindered and prohibited movement Spike rolled onto his side and gave a long pained moaned. Light turned the inside of his eyelids pink forcing him to open them. The light was strong and with another moan he closed them again. Every bone in his body ached. It felt as though… well to tell the truth it felt as if he had died and then come back again.

He let out a groggy chuckle at that. He's had a lot of experience dieing and coming back to life, if you wanted to call what he was living. Not that he was complaining. He loved the way he was, most days.

"You'll be more comfortable on your back." The soft voice filtered into his foggy mind.

"Bloody Hell," He groaned as he rolled back onto his back. Opening his eyes he stared blinkingly at a very white ceiling. "Where am I?"

"Your in my apartment." The voice came closer along with soft, almost silent footsteps. A small slender hand was gently placed on his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Spike turned his head to look at the owner of the hand. To his surprise he saw a young girl who had to be no more then 17 or 18, though if hadn't seen her face he would have guessed younger for her small frame was less than five feet tall. Straight snow-white hair framed her pale face, but it was her eyes that made him take a mental step back. Her eyes were old, older then they should have been. They held wisdom that Spike could never dream of discovering, but that wasn't the only thing. Her irises were pure white like her hair allowing him only to see her large black pupils.

"Who are you?" his voice came out horse and dry. Her hand left his forehead and came back with a glass of water.

"Can you sit up?" Spike, still puzzled over the girl, attempted to sit only to growl in pain. "Here let me help." She set down the glass and with sure and strong hands help him sit up and lean against the headboard of the bed he was on.

Again she brought back up the drink. Spike graciously took and gulped down the clear liquid with greed only to have it get caught in the wrong part of his throat. Violent spasms ran through his body as he began to cough. The girl placed a hand on his back trying to soothe him but doing no more then that. When the coughs did stop she removed her hand and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You never answered me, how do you feel?" She looked genially concern for him. Why, Spike could only guess.

"You never told be who you are." He shot back still not sure what to think of the girl, woman, or what ever she was.

A large smile lit her face. "Fair enough, " She said. "An answer for an answer. I am Yin." She bowed her head slightly at him.

He smirked. "You've got to be kidding me. Yin and Yin-yang." She nodded. "And you think I wouldn't have found that surprising in my hundred plus years of being a demon." A small cough left his lungs.

"Now you must answer my question." She got up and placed a small hand on his forehead again. This time Spike noticed the deep cold that came with her touch. He shuddered a way.

"Christ your hands are cold." He rubbed his head where her hand had been. "I feel fine for the fact I feel like I've had a pack of hell hounds set on me."

"The ache should pass after a while, it's only your body readjusting to natural bodily functions." She started to walk to the door. "I'd advise you to get more rest until you are completely healed." With that she left.

"Readjust to natural bodily functions? What the hell is that suppose to mean." Then with a well-placed groan he slid back down to a laying position. It was only then that he noticed that the window by the bed was open and letting the full sunlight in. Its rays fall straight onto the bed and Spike.

"Bloody Hell." That's when he noticed something else. He, Spike, William the Bloody, one of the undead, had a heartbeat. "No bloody way." Unconsciousness took over.

**TBC **


	3. The Truth

The next time he woke it was around dusk. The sunlight that filtered into the room was now a soft pink and shadows were everywhere. The pain was only a dull ache in his bones.

The door to his room was close but he could still hear movement outside of it. Pots and pans clank together as Yin got the evening meal together. Spike brought a hand to his eyes and rubbed away the sleep that was still there. Gingerly he swung he feet over the side of the bed and sat up.

Tiny lights like fireflies flickered through his vision forcing him to clutch his head until the dizziness passed. When it did he stood and slowly got to his feet and made his way to the door. Opening it he looked both ways and found himself in a small hallway. To the Right, next to his room, a door to the bathroom stood open. At the end was a closed door that Spike figured was the master bedroom. To the left was an open doorway, through which Spike saw Yin moving around.

"Spike is that you?" Yin stuck her head through the doorway and gave a small smile. "Come in and sit down. Dinner is almost ready. I'm sure your hungry."

Spike's stomach gave an agreeing growl and he had the decency to look sheepish as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the small table. It had been a long time since he had ever felt real hunger for human food. The hunger that drove him to drink blood was different then the hunger he felt now. Another growl came from his stomach.

"I made us some chicken wings and mashed potatoes. I hope that ok." She set a bowl of each on the table and went to the refrigerator. "What would you like to drink? I'm afraid that all I have is milk, water, or orange juice." She looked over at him.

"Water." Then at few seconds later he reminded himself to say please. "Please."

"Okay." She went to the sink and got Spike his water then poured herself a glass of milk. She came back with the glasses and the plates and silverware. She gave Spike his first. "Take as much as you want." Then she sat down and started to serve herself.

Spike did just that. He couldn't remember when food had tasted so good before. Even when he had been a vampire he had still stuck to the habit of eating human food but it didn't have the same appeal that it use to. His taste buds must have gotten changed when he was turned. Now though the wings and potatoes tasted like heaven.

He wasn't sure how many servings he had in all; he had stopped counting at three. He did, however, noticed that Yin actually ate very little. She spent most of the time keeping an eye on him. Almost as if to make sure he didn't chock on something or over stuff himself. Finally he had his fill and pushed the plate of wing bones away from him. Questions that he had put off during the meal now resurfaced full force.

"How the hell did I get here?" Yin didn't look surprised at his out burst; in fact she looked as though she had expected it sooner. She placed the spoonful of mashed potatoes she was going to eat back on her plate.

"I found you this morning as dawn was breaking. You were drained from the battle with Wolfram and Hart. As the sun hit you, you became as you are, no longer the vampire Spike but the human one." Spike just gazed at her. "You are the fulfillment of the prophecy."

That's when the dam broke and hysterical laughter emanated from Spikes throat. As laughs racked trough his body he fought to keep his balance on his chair. "Me fulfill the prophecy."

"It was your prophecy." Spikes laughter stopped immediately.

"That prophecy was never mine, it was always Peaches'. He practically lived, breathed, and worshiped the stupid thing." He paused. "And how in bloody hell did you know about the prophecy, or who I am for that matter." He fixed her with a glare.

"You tend to know things when you are part of the balance that keeps the universe running." She ate her spoonful of potatoes and returned the spoon to her plate looking thoughtful. She swallowed before continuing. "The fact that Angel lived, breathed, and worshiped the prophecy as you say, is the reason it was never his."

"What? He is the one who found it. He's had a soul longer then me, and he devoted his undead life to finding a way to make it come true."

"All the more reason why he shouldn't have gotten it." Spike gave her a puzzled look. "Who do you think is more of a hero, a man who is looking to be heroic or the one that only wants to live his life but must make some sacrifices to keep it?"

"Cryptic babble has never worked well with me." He forged confusions. In truth he understood where she was going, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Don't play dumb with me." She shook her spoon at him. "I know perfectly well you understand what I mean. Angel had a soul forced onto him and only then did he change his ways. He then found the prophecy that gave him hope that he could rid himself of the demon inside.

You on the other hand, fought for that soul out of love. You had been changing your ways long before you ever took the soul; the soul only advanced you on the road of that change. You only heard of the prophecy a short while ago, but never brooded on it or lost sleep over it. You continued on your road as if it didn't exist."

"That's because I thought it belonged to fucking Peaches." He shot up out of his chair and pointed a finger at her. "You don't know what it's like to live under his shadow. He was a vampire before me, he had Dru before me, He got a soul before me, he had the slayer before me…"

"He died before you." She looked away from him, out onto the street through the window.

"What?" He didn't believe what he was hearing. Everything he knew was changing so fast. The world that he had once lived in didn't seem to be there anymore.

"You were the only one that survived the battle. The battle wasn't suppose to happen yet but things have been unsettled for a while now. Angel's own carelessness didn't help much."

"Unsettled? Only one?" He fell back into his seat and put his head in his hands. "Bloody hell." He muttered over and over again.

"It wasn't in vain you know." The comment caused him to look up and see the look of pure sincerity on her face. "You guys won the battle, even though only you survived. The war may be brewing. Hopefully we can stop it first."

"That's why I'm human again, because no one else survived." A deep sense of lose filled him. He hadn't expected these feelings at the news of all the team being down for the count. He only now realized how close he had become to all of them while working at Wolfram and Hart; even Peaches had some how turn into a friend.

Yin's eyes narrowed sharply. Roughly she pushed back her chair and grabbed her plate while standing up. She marched into the kitchen to the sink and with a crash, set her dishes in it. Angrily Yin turned on the water. "You don't get it do you!" she said sharply. "Or are you just stupid."

She slammed the water off and went back for his plate. He didn't dare get in her way. A sense of uncontrollable power was rolling off her in waves and frankly it was giving him the heebie-jeebies.

She repeated the same process of crashing them into the sink and blasting them clean with the water, that she had shown her own dishes. This time after she had shut off the water she turned to him and gave him her full glare. "You didn't get the prophecy because you didn't die, you didn't die because you already had the prophecy."

"I –" He started to say but she didn't let him finish.

"Spike all your life you've never thought yourself worthy of anything. For once except this gift without question." She turned back to the sink and started to dry the abused dishes.

Spike truly didn't know what to think. He wanted to strangle the girl for thinking she knew so much about him and the world. He also wanted to believe that maybe the prophecy was his and that he did have some worth to someone up there. Always he had felt inferior to the world around him.

Before he had been turned he had been a weak, simpering, idiot. As a young vampire he had to hunt under the shadow of Angelus. Dru had left him because he hadn't been enough for her. Then Buffy… he hadn't been anywhere near worthy of Buffy. Yet she was still present in almost all his thoughts. She was stuck in his head and he wasn't sure he wanted her out.

"So we saved the world?" He asked in a weak defeated tone. Yin stopped and looked at him. A soft look came over her face.

"Yes, Spike, you saved the world again." She went back to drying. "Sadly the world is still under threat."

Spiked stared now at his heads. He could see the now living veins pumping his blood. He could even hear his own heart beat in his ears. "Hang it a second." His eyes flashed to Yin. Again she paused to look at him. "If I'm human why do I still have my vampire senses?"

Yin giggled at that. It wasn't something that Spike was completely ready for and it seemed like an action that wasn't taken often by the girl. "You can't be her partner if you aren't her equal."

"WHAT?" He had been asking that same question a lot tonight. This one however was more prominent then the last several had been. He also found himself once again leaping out of his chair. "What the hells that supposes to mean!"

"That, I'm going to let you muses over for yourself." The dishes dry she set them next to the sink. "Now I think it wise for you to get more rest. Your body isn't use to having to do the work anymore."

It was only then that He felt the truth of her words. While Spike had been distracted by the meal and then the conversation, fatigue had once again come to claim his body. Grumpy and acting like a spoiled five year old, he marched his way back to his room. Only calling back once before he shut the door. "Don't think this conversation is over yet, snippet."

Yin stood in the kitchen shacking her head still laughing silently to herself. Seconds passed and that laughter was replaced by a masked etched in sadness that she had been hiding. Finally she too decided it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow would be a new day with new possibilities.

**TBC **


	4. Cleveland

A loud boom shook the entire area. The windows of the building rattled dangerously in their frames. A few fragile items placed on the edge of the selves fell to their doom. Buffy sat up straight in her bed as the last of the shacking calmed.

"What the…"

Another crash resounded through the building. This time the sound seemed further away. With fast and graceful movement, she was out of bed and dressed. A sense of purpose surrounded her as she exited her bedroom and headed down the hallway to the stairs.

She took them two at a time. Urgency was pushing her to move faster as she came to the bottom and made her way to the library study.

"Willow." She called as she opened the large oak doors. The red head looked up from the book she was engrossed in. "What's going on?"

Willow only shook her head. "I don't know, I can't find anything on this guy. It's almost like he poofed out of nowhere, all angry and tearing things apart." She let out a sigh. "That's all I can tell you."

"But why is he here tearing things apart. I don't care if it is demons he is after; he is hurting innocent people while he is at it." Buffy walked to the window and looked out. Smoke was pouring from a distant building. For weeks now she had been living at the slayer base in Cleveland. Willow had sent for her help when they had come up against their newest problem.

The problem, however, didn't seem to want to have anything to do with them. He went around killing demons looking for something. This wouldn't have bothered Buffy so much if his path of destruction hadn't involved innocent passersby.

"We are starting to have people evacuate, but most are very reluctant to leave their homes. Even if they do sit on an active hell mouth."

"What does he want, Willow?" Buffy whispered to the window as she watched a strike of gold fly up into the sky.

"I couldn't even begin to guess, but what ever it is, it must be very important. I don't think I've ever seen anything that devoted to finding something." Willow came and stood next to Buffy.

"We have to try to talk to him, get him to stop somehow."

"We can't even get near him. He has power that I could never dream of containing. Plus we don't even know what he is."

"There must be something we can do!" Buffy threw her arms up in exasperation. Willow gave her a pitying look. "There just has to be."

"BUFFY!" Dawn came crashing through the library doors at a full gallop. She stopped right in front of her smaller sitter and tried to catch her breath. "LA…"

"Whoa Dawnie, catch your breath before you start talking. It's hard to hear the words between the pants." Willow teased. Dawn just glared at her. As she caught her breath she straightened up.

"As I was trying to say, in LA there was some kind of epic battle fought with Wolfram and Hart. Afterwards there was reported by the slayers stationed there, a great flash of light and the city repaired itself."

"Angel worked…" Dawn nodded at Buffy. "Is there any word from him or his team?"

"Not as of yet. That's all they reported back to the council. Apparently things are back to normal there, besides the fact that there is officially no more demons in LA." Buffy just looked over at her sister. She had grown into a beautiful woman and sometimes Buffy had a hard time admitting she now had her own life. She and Giles had set up the new watcher's council for the slayers scattered throughout the world. Dawn seemed content with what she had achieved.

"I should go. Someone has to go and try to make contact with Angel, someone that knows him." Buffy finally said to the silent room.

"No Buffy." Willow protested. "We need you here. Or did you forget our little destruction problem."

"I'll go. I need something to do. Giles has everything covered at the watcher's council anyways."

"Dawn…"

"Buffy, Willow said it herself. They need you here. Me, on the other hand, I can be replaced by just about anyone who can walk, talk, and read. Maybe not all at once because then I would be out of a job." Buffy smiled weakly. "I'll be fine. It's not like I've never been in LA before."

"I know it just… I don't know what to do right now. I have no idea how to get this guy to stop and listen to reason for two seconds."

"You'll figure something out. You always do." Dawn hugged her. "Now if you don't mind I have to go pack. I finally get that vacation I've been asking for." She ran out of the room giggling, leaving the two smiling woman watching her go.

Light flashed outside and the woman turned towards the window. "Holy Hannah." Willow breathed.

A large fire blazed into the night. Above it the figure of gold glided in circles like a hunting hawk.

**TBC **


	5. Surprise

Dawn flipped open her cell phone as she got off the plane at LAX airport. She waited patently as the call was connected to a distant European phone.

"Hello." The voice was male and held an English accent.

"Giles, it's me Dawn. I'm in Los Angelus. I'm calling in to see if you've heard anymore about anything that has happened here."

"I'm afraid that there is no news yet. The girls that were stationed there have left for different assignments. There isn't much keeping them there anymore." Muffled noises came from the background and Dawn heard Giles let out a deep sigh.

"Is that Dawn on the phone?" A much younger and very American voice came muffled from the phone.

"Yes Andrew it is Dawn. Now will you let me continue this conversation with her?" Dawn giggled into her hand.

"Well sorry, just wondered what she is up to. Haven't seen her in like… forever."

"Dawn's fine and currently in Los Angelus." Giles said exasperatedly. "Now may I –"

"Oh really? Say hi to Spike and Angel for me." There was dead silence. "Oops!" The explanation was quiet and small yet Dawn still managed to hear it.

"What did you just say?" Dawn asked.

Andrew didn't say anything and Dawn could almost hear Giles cleaning is glasses furiously. "Please answer Dawn's question Andrew. I myself am not sure I heard you correctly."

"Well you see Mr. Giles, he told me not to tell." Andrew wined. "He is going to hate me now."

"I don't care what you were told not to tell, tell us anyways." Dawn was getting a little agitated with Andrew. If it was true that Spike was alive and he had been keeping it a secret… She wasn't sure weather she would be realized or pisses. Most likely it would be a combination of the two.

"You both remember when you sent me to LA to pick up that slayer…"

"Yes Andrew we remember, now just get on with it." Dawn could hear the agitation that she was feeling in Giles's voice.

"Well it turned out that the amulet that obliterated Spike turned up in Angel's office and un-obliterated him. He mentioned something about being a ghost for a while but when I first saw him he was the same whole Spike we know and love."

"The first time you saw him?" The inquiry came from Giles. Dawn was more concerned about the whole coming back to life thing, but she would let Giles ask the questions for now.

"Yeah, he and Angel showed up at the apartment a while ago looking for Buffy. I don't think they ever found her. Told me not to tell anyone they had been there."

"WHAT! They were at the apartment and you didn't tell me. Andrew this is Spike we are talking about." Dawn wanted to strangle him now. It was one thing for Spike to be in LA, but to have come and visit Rome.

There was noise of someone leaving the room in a great hurry and the sound of the phone being set down and Giles following. There were some words exchanged but Dawn couldn't pick up what they were and then the door slammed.

"I afraid that is all we are going to get out of him for now." Giles said after picking up the phone again. "I don't think we will see him for a while if he knows what is good for him."

"Do you think he meant it all Giles, that Spike was here and in Rome."

"As much as I can't believe it, I think he is telling the truth. This doesn't seem like something he would make up. You know how he worships Spike."

"Why didn't Spike tell us." She couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice. "He loved Buffy, why not let her know he was back. It would have saved her some pain and we would have a normal Buffy back."

"I can't even begin to understand Spike, Dawn, but something tells me he wasn't sure where he stands with Buffy." Dawn sighed deeply.

"She is the queen of bitches some time."

"DAWN!"

"Oh, don't even pretend that you don't see it either. She is so oblivious sometimes."

"Yes, Dawn, we all are." There was silence.

"I guess I should try and figure out what happened. Maybe I'll find Spike or Angel."

"Maybe." He paused. "Be careful Dawn."

"I will, I love you Giles."

"I love you too Dawn." They both hung up and Dawn started to drag her luggage to the taxi lane. The hotel was already booked and she was ready for a long nap. She needed to digest all the news Andrew had just thrown at her. Spike alive… How was Buffy going to react when she found out? Dawn had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty but she wouldn't miss it for the world.

**TBC**


	6. Open Vacancy

It didn't take Dawn long to get situated in the comfortable little hotel that had been arranged for her. In fact it took less then two minutes. She hadn't brought a lot of stuff because she didn't plan on being in LA long. 

The hard part was deciding where to start in the search for Angel or Spike. Spike, she never thought she would think about seeing him again. Her mind still couldn't fully come to terms with the fact that he could be out there.

"Why didn't he tell us?" She had been asking herself the same question over and over again. Still she had no answer. She grunted and pulled a map of LA out of her bag.

She spead it over the top of the small table in the room and sat in one of the chairs. Only two places came to mind in the start of her search. W and H and the old hotel. W and H was already off the list. The slayers she had talked to said that the LA branch had packed up and left. No, not even that, it had just disappeared in the reconstruction of the city.

There were so many questions on Dawn's mind right now that it was hard to focus on why she was here. She didn't to find someone. Anyone really. The old hotel would be a start. Dawn gave a small satisfied small and folded up her map.

On the way out the door she grabed her purse. The small poke through the materal of the bag reassured her of the wooden stake resting inside. It was light out now, but the sun would be going down in a few hours. No matter what the slayers said about there being no demons being left in the city, Dawn wasn't going to take any chances. She was done being the helpless victim. Training with the new slayers had seen too that.

It took her well over an hour to walk to the old hotel. It looked just as it always had. She walked to the door and was relieved and worried to find that it opened easily when she gave it a small push. Inside was dusty and the spiders had started to take over.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed off the walls making her heart beat pick up a bit. "Is anyone her?"

There was no reply. Dawn sat down heavly on one of the dusty chairs sending dust everywhere. She didn't know what she had expected, but she had expected something… someone. Yet there was no one. Someone had to have survived what ever had happen, the good guys had won after all. Hadn't they?

Spike was suppose to be her so she could smake him a good one. He deserved it after not telling her he was back. A single tear fell down her face and she brushed it away angerly. He wasn't suppose to die again with out saying good-bye. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry for how she acted at the end. She wanted to hug him again, at least once. More tears started to fall.

Dawn froze at the sound of footsteps in the room. They steadly got closer and she looked up and reached for her purse only to freeze once again. An odd looking girl stood before her.

"You must be Dawn. I've been waiting for someone to show up looking for them." The girl was smaller then Dawn, heck she was smaller then Buffy. Everything about her was, well white. Her hair, her eyes, her clothes, and it almost hurt Dawns eyes. Dawn gawked at her, she looked so young, yet something in her eyes spoke of timeless age.

"They aren't here." This snapped Dawn back to the present. How did this girl, this being, know who she was looking for.

"Excuse me?"

"You're looking for Angel and the group right? They aren't here anymore."

"How did you –" Dawn stood up and gave the girl a hard look. "What do you want?"

"Nothing you can give me, I assure you. But this isn't about what I'm looking for. Are you, or are you not looking for Angel Investigation." A sense of power flowed from the girl and Dawn reluctantly nodded.

"They are no longer here." Dawn's face fell at these words.

"Do you know where I can find them?"

"You can't." The girl almost looked sad.

"Why not?" There was a moment of hesitation be for the girl spoke.

"They were lost in the battle."

"How?" It came out half whisper half gasp.

"I believe that is a story for another besides myself to tell. Come. I have some one who would like to meet you and you will like to meet." She held out her hand. Dawn just stared at it. She lifted her eyes to look into the off-setting eyes of the girl.

"Who are - what are you?" Dawn backed a little further away from the girl. Saspicion was creeping into her mind. This girl seemed to have known her, yet Dawn had never seen her before and Dawn knew that if she had meet her she would have remembered.

The girl sighed and dropped her hand. She looked resign and sit down in one of the seats near the one Dawn had recently vacated. She gestured for Dawn to sit down as well. Dawn did but kept an eye on the girl the whole time.

"I should have known this wouldn't be easy. Your too much like your sister that what."

"What do you know about me and my sister." Dawn glared.

"I'll start at the beginning. I am Yin." The girl, Yin, nodded a greeting at Dawn. "As for what I am, I am half The Balance."

"The Balance?"

"The force that keeps the Powers that be for good and the Powers that be for evil in check, making sure that one doesn't out weigh the other."

"And you are half of that." Dawn said sceptiacly. "What is the other half? And you still haven't explained how you know me or my sister."

"The other half, my other half, well that is a story for another time. As for knowing about you and your sister, it is simple. You both effect the balance in your own ways so it is part of my business to know about you." Yin's strange looking eyes looked straight into Dawn's. In them Dawn could find no decit yet doubt was still there.

"Lets say I trust you, which I'm not sure I do, who wants to see me?"

"If you come with me, you will find out." Against her better judgment Dawn went.

** TBC**


	7. The Chase

"Willow, where did he go?" A slightly out of breath Buffy asked the equally huffing redhead. They had been chasing the creature for a few hours now. They hadn't yet gotten close enough to test out the spell that Willow had recently found. 

"I'm not sure, but the trail of destructive bread crumbs ends here." Both females looked around. Sure enough after one large portion of a wall lying in the alley there sat a whole undamaged brick surface of the end of the alley.

"What was that?!" Willow squeaked as she spun around. A loud grating animal scream had just resounded through the ally.

"My guess is another destructive bread crumb." Buffy took off in the direction of the scream, the frightened witch right behind her. It didn't take them long to locate the building where the screams were coming from. Besides the fact that the noise was deafeningly loud at that point, there was a large whole blasted in the side of the warehouse.

The two entered from the broken surface. Hesitantly looking around trying to find the source of the noise. Far in the back corner Buffy could just make out two figures. One had the other against the wall. The noise was issuing from the later who seemed to be wearing an animal head.

They stepped closer as the noise finally died down. As they did Buffy realized that the head was a bull and fully connected to a human body, a very naked human body.

"Oh jeez." Willow whispered, "It's a Minotaur."

"A mino-whaty?" Buffy was too busy trying to see the other creature behind its golden wings to see the withered look that Willow gave her.

"Did you ever once pay attention in lit class?" Buffy turned and frowned at her and started to say something. "Never mind, the first Minotaur is the creature Pasiphae gave birth to. You know head of a bull, body of a man. Minos, her husband shut him up in a labyrinth. The creature wasn't his kid after all cause you know Pasiphae got happy with a bull a spell made her fall in love with…. And I babble, anyways Minotaurs are very well known for raping woman. They seem to have no control."

As if on cue the Minotaur raises it's head and smelled the air. It gave a loud grunt and struggled hard against its captor, gazing heatedly in the direction of the two females. The winged creature pinning him looked back at them but quickly dismissed them and focused back on the struggling bull-human.

The glimpse Buffy got of the creature told her it was human, or human like, a very hot human look alike. His hair matched his wings and the residual image of his face told her that it was very well defined, much like the muscles she was now noticing on his arms that had renewed their grip to pin the bull.

"They took what was mine, where?" He emphasized each word with a hard jar against the wall. Building matter snowed around each figure in the building. The Minotaur left out a series of grunts that must have been a language of some kind, yet the man didn't look pleased.

"You lie, I know you know." His voice was deep, powerful, and very demanding. What he did next Buffy didn't see and figured she didn't want to for the Minotaur let out that scream again, this time filled with more pain then before.

"Will, get that spell going." Buffy mumbled to her, eyeing the two creatures.

"De mon Dieu que je lui demande," Slowly Willow's eyes turned black, her red head starting to turn white. " Lie la voie d'accès de l'ennemi de mine."

The warehouse started to go dark, a wind whipping around everyone but the concentrating witch. The winged creature twisting the neck of the Minotaur before dropping him to the floor. Now his full attention was on Willow, who saw and heard nothing in her concentration.

"Le garde de la destruction," Buffy had to gasp at the beauty of him. Never before did she dear use that word to describe a male, but it fit him. She had been right about his face it was sharp and defined, much like someone else she use to know. His eyes reminded her of him too, dark golden yellow. Buffy shook her head at the thought of him.

"Et laisse son passage mauvais." He wore no shirt and the well-defined muscles of his arms matched the rest of him. His lower body was covered with lose fitting drawstring pants that were of an un-died material. He started his way towards Willow, a crazed look in his amber eyes. He moved like fluid, the most graceful, powerful predator that Buffy had ever seen.

"Amen." There was a large flash and Buffy forgot to breath. As her eyes attempted to readjust she scanned the warehouse. The destructive angel, as Buffy now called him, was nowhere to be seen but Willow was a heap on the ground. Her hair was once again red.

Buffy ran to her and checked her breathing. It was short and shallow but there. She relaxed a little and moved to pick up the unconscious witch. As she stood she noticed the new hole in the roof. Above witch a golden figure hovered a few seconds before moving off.

The spell had failed. It was time for a new plan.


End file.
